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Build a simple Marx Generatorby Plasmana on August 25, 2008

Table of Contents

Build a simple Marx Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro:   Build a simple Marx Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1:   So, how does it work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 2:   The dangers you must know... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 3:   What you will need are... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 4:   Also you need the tools! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Step 5:   Power supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Step 6:   The construction of the marx generator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 7:   Spark gaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 8:   Testing... Testing... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 9:   Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 10:   SPARKS!!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

Author:Plasmana––––––––––––––––––––––––

My motto:"Energy cannot be created nor destroyed!"

––––––––––––––––––––––––I have a brain condition called Asperger syndrome, so I may be a bit strange to you... And I tend to take things a bit too literally.––––––––––––––––––––––––I love anything that can light up the skies and ending with an loud band, lighting, fireworks, and EXPLOSIVES! As long as no harm has been done, thereforeI absolutely hate wars, what is the point?

I was born and raised in New Orleans, USA, then my family finally decided to move to England after Hurricane Katrina gave us a push to do so. After wemoved, I developed great interest in electronics, then igh voltage electronics. I have archived many projects I wanted to do, but never succeeded atconstructing the ultimate project, the Tesla Coil...

But I am not that easily discouraged, I will continue working on until I succeed. There is a saying that my Gran always say, "The first you failed, try and tryagain until you succeed!"

Now I go to College and study Electrics (not surprising!) to get my qualification, because all of this dang ultra strict Health and Safety laws!––––––––––––––––––––––––

Intro:  Build a simple Marx GeneratorDo you like the idea of tesla coils and other high voltage sparking stuff, but don't have the time, money or patience to build something that is elaborate?

Well, here's a fun 'n' simple project that can make big, fat, noisy sparks at least 2 inches long, and can be built very quickly and cheaply. It might be even more fun to usea marx generator than using a 'very complicated to build' tesla coil!

And to let you know, this "Quick & Dirty" Marx generator website helped me a lot to build this marx generator.

If you have no idea what is a marx generator, you might be saying this in your mind "What the hell is a marx generator!", read about it here on Wikipedia .

WARNING! This project generates very high pulse discharge voltages, which can seriously harm and could be potentially lethal to you and others that are careless totouch the output of the marx generator.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

Step 1: So, how does it work?The Marx generator consists of an array of resistors, capacitors and spark gaps arranged as follows in the schematic...

The capacitors are charged up in parallel through the resistors, so they each become charged to the input voltage. When all of the spark gaps fires (sparks), thecapacitors get effectively connected in series, therefor multiplying the input voltage by the number of capacitors and causing a long spark at the end of the marxgenerator.

Rb has a ballasting effect, it is used to prevent a continuous arc forming across the first gap - this prevents further firing of the marx generator. The value of the resistorwill mainly depend on the type of power supply is used, in this case, we are going to use an 10M resistor for this marx generator on this instructable. However, you canreduce the Bb's value to try get more 'bangs per second' without causing an arc forming on the spark gap...

Now, you know how it works (I hope), so lets build it!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

Image Notes1. This is where you get a big spark.2. Spark gap.3. All the resistors are 1M 1 watt.4. Any value ceramic capacitor with voltage ratings of 4 - 8Kv.5. 10M 1 watt resistor.

Step 2: The dangers you must know...The marx generators are dangerous high voltage generating machines, they produce a pulse discharge of many thousands of volts at approximately 5 to 10 amps! If thespark from the marx generator bites you, your life is over...

There is one thing you must know, a healthy human heart can only withstand electric currents maximum 10mA. Currents over 10mA can results death, I am NOT jokinghere, this is serous stuff, a lot of people thinks your heart can handle currents up to 500mA, THIS IS NOT TRUE!!! THEY ARE WRONG!!! If you don't believe me, thentest your self against a high voltage 500mA power supply, a small microwave transformer would do, put your hand on one lead, put your other hand on the other lead,turn on the power supply and you will be sorry...

The marx generator will also be dangerous after the power is turned off, because the capacitors will hold a lethal charge in them, so, MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE YOUDRAIN ALL THE CAPACITORS BEFORE YOU TOUCH THE DEVICE!!! Otherwise you will get a 'surprise shock' form the capacitors which can seriously harm you oreven death...

Also, every time a marx generator fires (make a spark), it kicks out a lot of UV radiation, and sometimes X-rays! Staring at the sparks form the marx generator can causeproblems with your eyes, so wear UV sunglasses or briefly watch it every once a while. If you want to be safe, use laser protection glasses, it will take out nearly all of theUV emitted from the spark and you might not be able to see the spark well, but it much better for your eyes.

Okay, you might be a bit scared after reading this horrible step, so do you think you can build a marx generator? Or find it too dangerous to build it? The choice is yours...

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

Step 3: What you will need are...I based the components I had easily available.The recommended components you should get are ceramic capacitors and 1M 1 watt resistors. The ceramic capacitors are best suited for this project, because they arecheap, readily available, and they are good for in pulse discharge circuits. Polypropylene pulse-rated capacitor would also work well, but are more expensive, and harderto find with high voltage ratings. The resistors should be about 1M and 1 watt type, the normal 1/4 watt resistors are very unsuitable, if used, it will cause arcing and theresistors will burn out and damage the marx generator, so use the 1 watt metal glazed or carbon film resistors is suitable.

If in doubt, try building just a couple of stages first to see how well the parts you use will work before you buy more...

But I will tell you what I used...

Ten 1nF, 4Kv ceramic capacitorsTwenty 1M, 2 watt, 500v carbon film resistors (I brought the 2 watt resistors because they are somewhat cheaper then the 1 watt resistors!)Two 4.7M, 1 watt, 3.5Kv metal glazed resistor for the Rb.

Also you can use a base for your marx generator, the best suited base are glass (too fragile), ceramic (it's breakable) plastics (ideal, but some of them may beconductive), or whatever you think it is good! I use wood, a very baaad idea (because wood is conductive), but I have no choice, wooden base or no base.

You can use capacitors with larger values to get fatter, louder sparks, but take longer to recharge! You can often run capacitors in excess of their rated voltage, butobviously this increased the risk of failure!

And don't forget, the size of sparks at the output gap will depend on the input voltage and number of stages...

(UPDATE)I got all my components from Farnell . Here is a list of things you will need to get if you are going to buy the components from Farnell.1nF 4Kv ceramic capacitors1M 2 watt 500v carbon film resistors4.7M 1 watt 3.5Kv metal glazed resistor

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

Step 4: Also you need the tools!Also you need the tools!What you will really need is a soldering iron! Or you will have a pain in the ass time to build the marx generator, and get very poor results because of the coronadischarge...

You will need a helpers hands, they are very useful to have, they help you to get the job done quicker. If you don't have one, MAKE ONE! Salvaged Solder Helper

Hot glue gun is also very handy, it holds everything in place.

And you may need other common tools for this project...

Step 5: Power supplyThe marx generator requires a low-current, high voltage DC in the range 4-8KV power supply. Small, low-current HV power supplies are found in things like ionisers (airpurifiers), photocopiers and laser printers, those should be suitable.

I made my own 6Kv power supply for my marx generator. My power supply is a small homemade 450v inverter with a 18 stage voltage multiplier to get about 7Kv.

OR, you can make your own power supply for your marx generator, go to this instructable: High Voltage Power Supply For Marx Generator

Also the marx generator has no polarity, you can connect it to the HV power supply in any way round.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

Step 6: The construction of the marx generator.Depending how you want your marx generator, I will tell you how I did mine...

I first hot glue the capacitors on the base.Then I soldered the 1M resistors on the capacitors using my handy helper's hands, and cutting off the excess resistor's leads. But I did not cut the capacitor's lead down,you will see why on the next step...Then I soldered the 4.7M resistors in.And one more thing, make sure you have good solder joints, and make sure they are no pointy ends on the marx generator, except the capacitor's leads and the HVoutput of the marx generator. Otherwise having pointy ends all over the marx generator will cause corona discharge, and that will decrease the performance of the marxgenerator.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

Image Notes1. HV output!2. Rb resistors.

Image Notes1. Good solder joint.2. Capacitor's lead.

Step 7: Spark gapsOkay, once you had soldered the capacitors and resistors all together, you need to make the spark gaps.This is what the capacitor's leads are for, making the spark gaps!Okay, so bend the leads into a "V" shape and bring the ends of the "V" shaped leads about 2 mm (about 0.08 inch) close together.But do not bring the pointy ends of the leads close together, that will cause a lot of corona discharge, and your marx generator will have very poor performance, or mightnot ever work...

Image Notes1. Good. This is how you should do it.

Image Notes1. Good solder joint.2. Capacitor's lead.

Image Notes

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

1. This is where you get a big spark.2. Spark gap.3. All the resistors are 1M 1 watt.4. Any value ceramic capacitor with voltage ratings of 4 - 8Kv.5. 10M 1 watt resistor.

Step 8: Testing... Testing...All right, you had built a marx generator, and it is now time to test it! Wire up your marx generator to the HV power supply and flip the switch!

3... 2... 1... *Flips switch* And.....

SNAPWow!SNAPCool!SNAPIt works!!! Yay!

SNAP

Step 9: TroubleshootingIf you have problems with your mark generator, read here...

Q. - My marx generator is not making any sparks, but I hear faint hissing and/or faint snap noise, and sometimes see a purple glow.A. - This is a good thing, your marx generator is working, but one or more gaps are probably too far apart, push them closer together. If gaps are too close, especiallynear the supply end, you may see a continuous arc forming, preventing further operation. Increasing the gap on the first (and possibly second) stage may reduce thetendency to arc. Increasing the ballast resistor Rb also helps, at the expense of slower recharge time.

Q. - My marx generator is not doing anything what so ever.A. - Is there something wrong with the inverter? Check it to see if it working or not.A. - Did you make sure you built the marx generator properly?A. - Did you miss out any connections?

Q. - My marx generator is working, but after a few seconds, it made a "POP" noise, and it did not work again...A. - That is a bad sign, a capacitor may have been destroyed from excess voltage OR your HV power supply has been killed from the extremely high voltage spikes from

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

the marx generator. Replace the capacitor/inverter and don't make that same mistake again...

Step 10: SPARKS!!!My marx generator works very well, it generates loud, bright, sparks that are up to 2 inches long (5 cm)! That is about 50Kv (50,000v) coming out of that thing!

Well I hope yours works when you build one! :)And can you post a picture of your marx generator if you build one?

To let you know, all of the photos that has a few sparks in a single picture are 4 second long exposures.

I hope you enjoyed this instructable, and enjoy the photos down below! And the video I just uploaded!

Comment if you need help, have question, or anything! I like comments!

(UPDATE) I just uploaded a video of my marx generator working, sorry for the poor quality with no sounds, I had used my crappy camera. :(

Image Notes1. 2 inch long spark!!!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

Image Notes1. A spark from my Marx Generator.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

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http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

Comments

50 comments Add Comment view all 537 comments

 bibbibbib says:  Mar 23, 2011. 12:05 PM  REPLYanyone know of an american place that sells the components

 grampafish says:  Feb 12, 2011. 8:44 AM  REPLYPlasmana if I pm you with my email can you send me the schematic for the AA to 450 volt inverter

Thanks

 Mudbud says:  Mar 9, 2011. 11:39 AM  REPLYits just a camera flash curcuit, u can get them for free at walmarts.. but hurry, All the ones by me have gone digital :/

 Mudbud says:  Mar 8, 2011. 6:54 PM  REPLYWill a 0.003µF 4KV Film Capacitor work???

 Mudbud says:  Mar 9, 2011. 11:38 AM  REPLYWell acutally, will these work?http://cgi.ebay.com/50-x-0-33uF-100V-5-Mylar-Film-Capacitors-/320517601938?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa0567a92

PLS REPLY!!

 jaydenr says:  Jan 20, 2011. 11:18 AM  REPLYWill it work to use 1nF, 6Kv ceramic capacitor? cant find 4kv

 bwang says:  Feb 21, 2011. 11:50 AM  REPLYYes.

 Gonzik says:  Jan 30, 2011. 8:10 PM  REPLYMade one of my own. You can see videos and what not here;http://letsmakerobots.com/node/24444

 MadScientist101 says:  Jan 17, 2011. 9:48 AM  REPLYis there any way of modifiing it so that it needs only a battery rather than that other power supply as well

 CKKnot says:  Dec 21, 2010. 5:00 AM  REPLYI would prefer Transformer, Anyway can u pls tell me the transformer winding need to step-up to about 4-8Kv from a AA battery?

 Minimadnes says:  Nov 21, 2010. 6:52 AM  REPLYcan i use metalfilm resistors of the same specs

 bs1500 says:  Nov 16, 2010. 1:06 PM  REPLYThis is pretty awesome. Can you post how to do this with the AA rather than from mains.Thanks

 a_guy says:  Nov 4, 2010. 5:26 PM  REPLYHow would you be able to maintain a constant arc? Also, is it possible to be able to control the voltage? I'm not really much of an expert on electricity, socould someone help?

 Nanovirus says:  Sep 26, 2010. 1:26 PM  REPLYI was running through some pictures I did a while ago of this experiment and I just thought I'd like to share it with you all.

Notice the high voltage corona wind on the candle? (at least, thats what im assuming it is.)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

 mayo291 says:  Oct 27, 2010. 1:38 PM  REPLYwas that candle lit before

 Nanovirus says:  Oct 28, 2010. 1:47 PM  REPLYYes, I was merely testing what would happen with the effects of the candle when it was lit. However, the high voltage project box I have witch uses aflyback transformer, 2 resistors and 1 transistor that drives this marx generator; that can light the candles.

 mayo291 says:  Oct 28, 2010. 4:29 PM  REPLYawesome

 MAjid6687 says:  Sep 5, 2010. 1:27 AM  REPLYvoltage of the power supply is about 6-7Kv ,and the capacitors used in the Marx generator are 4Kv .I think the capacitors will break due to higher voltage ,amI right?

 p8ntball37 says:  Sep 5, 2010. 9:37 PM  REPLYi dont think so because they have resistors and are charged up in parrallel

 tulavatalo says:  Aug 23, 2010. 2:35 AM  REPLYare the Two 4.7M, 1 watt, 3.5Kv metal glazed resistor absolutely necesary

 Caspar says:  Aug 30, 2010. 12:27 AM  REPLYIf you can't get 3.5kV resistors, you could substitute 10 of the ordinary ones in series. (20 * .47 MegOhm)

 pass-the-beans says:  Aug 19, 2010. 10:58 AM  REPLYCould you provide a schematic of your 450 volt inverter powered from the single aa battery? Thanks!

 agent harmsy says:  Aug 18, 2010. 1:20 AM  REPLYHmmmmm, this would go nicely with my coilgun... But I checked out parts @ Farnell and they come to over $AUD50! (including parts for the HV supply)Looks like I'll be waiting a while... stupid student budget :/ Pity you can only get things in lots of 10 or more. Really cool project though. :D

 ianb says:  Jul 21, 2010. 8:50 AM  REPLYEndolith, I want to be an electrical engineer really bad. I am going to be a senior in highschool next semester. Do you have any suggestions on a route orpath I should take being my last year in highschool? I've never really made anything before, just led stuff here and there, nothing to brag about. Hope to heresome advice, thanks in advance. -Ian-

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

 endolith says:  Jul 11, 2010. 7:27 AM  REPLY

Can this really harm you? The idea that a special number of voltage or amperage will automatically kill you is not accurate.

Scuffing your feet across a carpet and touching something metal also produces thousands of volts and large currents, but it obviously doesn't harm you,because the capacitance is small and the spark is very short-lived. Yes, it's high voltage and high current, but the duration is less than a microsecond.

I'm sure it hurts, but I'm skeptical that it would actually cause any harm. How long are the sparks in cm?

10x 1 nF capacitors charged to 7 kV store a total of 250 mJ. Scuffing your feet across the floor stores maybe 60 mJ max by comparison.

"The effects of electrical current passing through the human body are covered at length in the International Electro Technical Commission document IEC479-2:1987. In this document it indicates that a transient or capacitive discharge, as is the case with static electricity, requires energy in excess of 5 Joules(5000mJ) to produce a direct serious risk to health."

 Plasmana says:  Jul 15, 2010. 8:08 AM  REPLYOkay, you made a very good point, can my marx generator kill? Very good question, personally, I will NOT touch it even if its safe. I never reallyunderstand Joules as they are many other units of energy related to it. Each capacitor (1nF) holds approximately 4kV to 5kV, how do I convert that tojoules to see if its safe(ish) or not?

 endolith says:  Jul 15, 2010. 9:23 AM  REPLYI already did that for you, but I was using 7 kV. :) The energy stored in a capacitor is given by 1/2 * C * V^2, so:

1/2 * 1 nF * (5 kV)^2 = 0.0125 J = 12.5 mJ

Wolfram Alpha can do a lot of work for you:

capacitor stored energy 5 kV 1 nF

Multiply by 10 and you have 125 mJ total, which is 1/40th of the energy that document says is the minimum that will hurt you.

I'm not claiming that this thing definitively can't hurt you. I'm just skeptical that it's dangerous. Even if it's not harmful to health, the shock might stillhurt like hell. :D

 endolith says:  Jul 20, 2010. 9:36 AM  REPLYFor another example, I'm looking at a safety test certification document for EN 60065, and they limit the maximum energy of a discharge to 350mJ.

 endolith says:  Jul 15, 2010. 9:31 AM  REPLYThe total voltage could be 70 kV, which means the arcs should be able to jump about 1 inch . Does that seem right?

 chakra says:  Jul 13, 2010. 11:05 PM  REPLYWOW!! U sure R a expert on electricity!! where u got all those facts from??

 endolith says:  Jul 14, 2010. 6:43 AM  REPLYI'm an electrical engineer. :)

 knuffe says:  Jul 15, 2010. 10:34 PM  REPLYIs it possible to hook this up to the stereo? if so how? Would I use its own jack and use the stereo instead of the [RB ?] It would add to a cool effect thatsparks with the beat, could be a nice horror effect of placed out of reach of dumb people!

 aliyevzaur1989 says:  Jul 13, 2010. 12:21 PM  REPLYcan i add some capacitors/resistors for getting some more volts??? for example several hundreds of volts??

 Plasmana says:  Jul 15, 2010. 7:52 AM  REPLYYes

 DjjC13 says:  Aug 30, 2008. 6:57 AM  REPLYHow do you have that helping hands stand grounded? did you make a plug to go in the electrical outlet ground or what?

 emihackr97 says:  Jul 14, 2010. 2:05 PM  REPLYits connected to negative of the marx generator not to ground

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-simple-Marx-Generator/

 Plasmana says:  Aug 30, 2008. 5:52 PM  REPLYI connected my helping hands to the ground of the marx generator.

 tylervitale says:  Apr 18, 2010. 5:16 PM  REPLY I've actually read that under certain conditions, as little as 1 mA can be lethal...D:

 bombmaker2 says:  Apr 18, 2010. 6:04 PM  REPLYI could see that happening, especially if you are very young, very old, or have a pacemaker

 the_lark says:  Jul 13, 2010. 9:14 AM  REPLYis that doctor octagonapus in your avatar?

 bombmaker2 says:  Jul 13, 2010. 10:54 AM  REPLYHell Yeah!

 DanRiches says:  Jul 13, 2010. 3:39 AM  REPLYRemember, Volts Jolts, Current Kills! 40v will conduct nice and easily through you coupled with an amp or so, it'll kill you. A low current at high voltages willcause arythmia also. 1ma at many thousands of volts can kill! Your best bet is to place a high voltage, high ohmic resistor on the output stage and place themarx generator in a protective box. You will not get x-ray from this device, you need a vacuum and a heated heavy metal ie tungsten. You could place anincandescent light bulb which is on near the output and you may generate x-rays within the chamber of the bulb but not in free air. Personally if you are onlygetting short sharp discharges as in the video then a decent pair of sunglasses will do. Anything more powerful and you may give yourself arc eye, which isvery painfull. Yep the device is dangerous, but can be made fairly safe and is a lot of fun to play with, be safe guys and gals!

 thejjaclub says:  Jul 12, 2010. 9:41 AM  REPLYWOW! i love this marx generator! besides the fact that my ring keeps charging!(from the elecritcity it produces) Lol for now! Thejjaclub

 ghostrider2 says:  Jul 11, 2010. 11:18 PM  REPLYcan this idea be scaled up to reach across a doorway(i.e an electrical security field)

 nodnodwinkwink says:  Jul 12, 2010. 3:30 AM  REPLYIf it can, i suggest that you create an array of these that run the length of a corridor giving the indiana jones / james bond type character a challenge ofrunning through at a precise moment to time so they dont get electrocuted by the electric *SNAP*. Chances are they would see this as a very defeatablechallenge so around 3/4's of the way through this electrified corridor install a trap door no less than 8 feet in length in the floor which will be sufficient tocatch them off guard.

 ghostrider2 says:  Jul 12, 2010. 4:19 AM  REPLYi was thinking more along the lines of running up a door way, creating an electrical field across the doorway, kind of like what you see in batmanarkham asylum, only it delivers alot more of a shock.

 JGibbins says:  Jul 11, 2010. 12:07 PM  REPLYHow do you get it to run off the AA battery? This Instructable describes making the actual generator. You have one for the High Voltage Power Supply, butthat runs off Mains electricity. For an AA battery do you just need LOADS of stages? Also, what is the on/off switching mechanism you used? Looks a lot offun, thanks!

 locofocos says:  Jul 11, 2010. 8:02 AM  REPLYI have an idea. Could this be made to work like an electric fence? (a very deadly electric fence for high security applications) Imagine building this on a largescale, where the electricity could arc about 4 feet. Make a room 7 feet tall. Attach one of the leads (where the big spark comes from) to the ground, andmake the other lead into a large metal ceiling. Anybody above 3 feet tall would come close enough to the ceiling to complete the circuit. Would this work?

 kcls says:  Jul 11, 2010. 6:40 AM  REPLYHow many sparks do you get (on average) off one battery? Cool 'ible!

 FurtherThanTesla says:  Jun 24, 2010. 12:51 PM  REPLYI like high voltage stuff (hence my name) and would like to build one of these. But Where do you get the 4-8kv of initial voltage?

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